New French girl around!
 

Hello everyone,

I have finally been accepted as a member of this forum and I am very thankful about this.
I spent many many hours reading threads here, and I am delighted to see so many good works and such a dedication to making striking portraits.

I have been drawing for years, more or less depending on my occupations, and have begun painting portraits a few years ago. Painting is now my principal activity. I am used to paint rather freely, in not such a traditional way, but since I discovered sog members websites and this forum, I thought it would be interesting to make more traditional works too to enrich my painting experience, and to adapt my work to some commissionners.

Here is one of my last paintings (pastel on Pastel Card, 50 x 65 cm), where I tried to give a more traditional mood to my work. I am a self-taught painter, so some may think there are mistakes in my works as well as weird compositions; this may be explained by the fact that I let inspiration guide me most of the time in the compositions I apply.

Please feel free to comment on my work.

I would like to thank all of you and especially the portrait artists in this forum who do not have much time left to discuss in the threads but who still dedicate some time to teach us a great deal of important lessons. Some people don't always agree with what is said in some threads, but the important thing here is that it seems to me that EVERYBODY here loves arts and is willing to develop their skills. Thanks to all of you.

By the way, I am French, so please forgive me for the mistakes I may make in my English writing ;)

I also hope to discuss with the other European guys here, since there is no such forum in France or Europe that I know of!!

A bient

Karine,

Welcome to the Forum! Variety is encouraged! Please feel free to post your "wierd" compositions! This one is intriguing and a little haunting, and it makes me want to see more of your work.

It really is amazing to be able to "meet" artists from all over the world over the internet. I think portraiture outside the U.S. has a slightly different direction and emphasis, and it's healthy to see a variety of viewpoints and styles.

Alex

Hi Karine,

Welcome from another new EU member, we're a little thin on the ground so it's great that you joined up.

That's a beautiful and very strong piece of work you've posted, in my opinion. That you've taught yourself to such a level gives me encouragement for my own work.

I too am very much looking forward to seeing some more of your work.

Paul

Welcome Karine,

Your pastel is a beautiful strong portrait. I detect a hint of Harley Brown's influence. Have you read his books? In any case we are delighted to have you on the forum.

Salut Karine!

I'm French too, even if I live now in Quebec. I hope you will enjoy this forum at least as much as I do...

Your work seem strong and interresting, I hope we will see some more.
Bienvenue!

Hi Karine,
and welcome!
I see you are from Albi, I can't imagine what a source of inspiration the Lautrec museum must be! I was there a few years ago and remember being stunned by the freshness of his early work and feeling immediately guilty for not living with a pencil in my hand... and that was way before I became an internet addict!
Enjoy the weather ( I came back yesterday from a tour in the Loire with my family, it was just gorgeous), hope to see more of your work here
Ilaria

Welcome Karine.

That's a beautiful portrait and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work here too.

Thank you Alex
 

Alex,

Thank you very much for your warm welcome! I consider that your comments on threads are always constructive, so I appreciate you took some of your time to welcome me :)

I had a look at your website, and I wish I could see the originals of your artwork. I am sure the expression of your figures and portraits are strikingly rendered.

There indeed seems to be differences between the U.S. portraits and those in other countries. I think all kinds of portraits are fascinating to create and to study. This is one reason why I find this forum so valuable. Not only can we learn from each other, but it is a great source of inspiration too!

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the nice comments :)

I learnt how to draw kind of the same way you're working on your skills right now. Your drawings and paintings are great and I am sure you are going to create very strong artworks soon! I had to stop drawing for about eight years, but when you come back to your first love, it is such a strong feeling that you can overcome almost any obstacle.

I wish you tons of courage to follow your path and hope to see more works of yours too!

Thank you Richard, Marina, Ilaria and Claudemir!
 

Richard, Thank you! What a compliment! Concerning Harley Brown, well, I have never read his books, but as you told me that, I found his website and I guess we may be inspired by the same kind of people. I like to "listen" to what faces "tell" me, and I can see he paints a lot of native Americans, which for me would be a great source of inspiration. Unfortunately, I live a bit too far from America to have them sit for me ;)

Why did you detect an influence? Would it be because of the color I use in the background? Anyway, I would like to thank you for welcoming me on board! I have not seen works of yours yet. I guess I should check the unveilings section or some other section to have a chance to see them. But I did read posts of yours about pricing artworks, and the information you share is very interesting. Thank you about that too!

Marina, bonjour !

It is nice to "meet" another French artist here. I have never lived in America. I wish I could go someday. Actually I have been thinking of living in Canada for one or two years, a few years ago. I wanted to do herbalist studies there, but right now, I am living in a place I am discovering each day here in the Tarn, and it is also very exciting. It is almost like going abroad. People in the same country can have so different cultures from their compatriots!

Your experience must be very interesting. I don't know Canada that much. Is Montreal very different from French cities?

Hi Ilaria, yes the Toulouse-Lautrec museum is inspiring. I felt exactly the same way as you did when I saw his early works, actually. He was so talented! I only knew his posters before going to the museum, and it was a delightful surprise to discover those drawings and paintings. If you would like to come and visit the museum again, please let me know!

Claudemir, I appreciate your comment and your message. I will try to send more works in this section or in the unveilings section - I don't know which section would be more suitable - as soon as I can.

Welcome, Karine!
I wouldn

Hello Karine,

welcome to the forum from a fellow European in Denmark. I like your pastel and hope to see more paintings of yours.

Our queen has a house in your neighborhood, Chateau Caix in Cahore. You may see her painting in the garden if you peep through the fence.

Allan

Muchas Gracias Carlos!

Well, I am not so good in Spanish either! I studied it for many years, but did not practice enough and started to forget words after words... This is a shame :sunnysmil I have never been to Madrid although I have lived close to Spain for years, but I would like to go someday. This city is beautiful, isn't it?

I'm a little embarassed to get all these compliments! The thing is that I really enjoyed painting this one. I think it is important not to worry about the outcome, just enjoying the process. In my humble opinion, technical skills are something essential to learn, but there is another important one to me, which is enjoying the act of painting!

This should be something natural to us, yet we can easily forget it, sometimes, when getting commissions that do not inspire us as much as we would like them to, when we begin to worry that the portrait doesn't get done properly or in time, or when students practice and do not get the results they are hoping to get. Painting is a very intense way of learning about oneself, but how exciting is it!

Carlos, could you please give me the link to the Spanish forum you found?

Hello Allan,

That would be fun ;)

Actually I didn't know about this castle, maybe I will go someday. It is not so far from here. It is situated in the Lot, which is a natural and beautiful region. Have you been there?
There are so many things we Europeans do not know about our fellow neighbours... I hope I can learn more about Denmark too thanks to you through this forum!

Karine,
I found some photos from Cahore. The queen does her own shopping, you see.
Allan

Wellcome Karine,
I hope that here you can find all the suggests you need. You just found some new friends.

Hi Karine,
Your work is intriguing and your English is excellent and written in a warm, friendly manner. You will be well received here. Welcome aboard!
I know what you mean about forgetting a language. I took Spanish for 10 years and used to be quite fluent - but like anything else, use it or lose it.

Hello Allan, it is so rare for a monarch to quietly do her own shopping. Your queen seems to live an interesting and simple life in Cahors. I am impressed! Does she spend most of the year in France, or does she come here for some vacations only?

Ciao Luca, and thank you. I already found useful information on this forum, and being able to communicate with all of you is a wonderful opportunity. I hope I can also be of any help sometimes here. I know Italy a little bit. In what part of Italy do you live?

Hi Heidi, I am intrigued that you find my work intriguing ;)

Well, I must admit I often have to look up words in my dictionary to write my replies, though I studied English for many years! The good news is that even if you lose it, you can find it back as soon as you decide to, with a little time of adaptation.

Thank you for your friendly message. I am glad to be well received by such a talented sculptor! A photograph of an artwork is never as impressive as an original, but still when I see the pictures of your sculptures on your website, I can feel the energy of life radiated by those artworks. I can't imagine how captivating they must be in reality. Congratulations.

Karine,
yes, Montreal is very different from french cities. It's just big enough to have the advantages of a big city but not too much inconvenients...
The bad thing is that it's not a high place for visual arts, and even less for figurative art ( but all this is going to change: I'm here! :) )
But for the moment I feel homesick, but I have to wait until this summer to go back "home"...

Hi Marina,

Haha, No doubt about it :)

I know homesickness too. I have lived abroad. It is a wonderful experience, but we get to miss people and small things we didn't even notice before we went away, but that we realize are important to us when we lose them. Hope you feel better soon. And, after all, summer is not so far from now!!

If this can help, do you know that we all get homesick when coming back and living in our native country again? This can take years, but sooner or later, surprinsingly, you realize that your host country became a big part of yourself, and that you miss it. Please enjoy your life in Quebec, for you may miss it someday if you move from there, even if you're kind of sad right now! Bon courage :)

Karine

No, I have never been on that side of the Rhone river. The only time I have been in France was to have an exhibition in Mus

Welcome Karine, now that you are here take your time, have fun but best of all participate. Your portrait is quite dramatical. Was this a preference or was it the moment?

We all would like to see more of your work and have you participate. We all learn from each other. Sometimes we give advice or comments and at other times we seek advice and or comments. So, stay a while and bring your materials.

Sincere welcome,
mischa

Dear Karine,
I live in Naples, I am sure that you know my city and you will be always welcome here. Let me know if you want to have a trip here.

Hello Mischa,

Sorry to reply so late, I was quite busy these days. Thank you for your kind words. Concerning the fact that you find my portrait dramatical, well it came naturally as the model's mood was what it was. Actually, I am not sure that I understand the term dramatical here, but what I can say, is that before starting to paint, I observe the model for quite a long time, kind of absorbing what the face has to tell me about that person, and then I paint it with all it has brought to me. It is always a profound experience, to me, to paint someone's face.

Allan, thanks for posting that picture. It is an interesting painting, indeed. I will to try to look for more on the Internet. I have not been in Haute-Provence yet but based on the pictures I saw, I am sure it is a beautiful area. You should definitely see the Tarn. It is an inspiring place too. Landscapes are colorful and bright throughout the year.

And what a job ;)

Luca, Ah... Napoli. I think I went once when I was a child. Who knows, maybe I'll have the opportunity to go back someday, I'll let you know!

Well, I am working on new portraits right now. I am sending the newest one. Please note that It is not finished yet, I am working on the background, but I thought this would give you another example of my recent works.

Post moved to Pastel Critiques
 

Hi everyone,

I have posted the portrait above with some close-ups in the Pastel Critiques section as I thought it would be more appropriate.

Please feel free to give me your thoughts about it. I would greatly appreciate.

Sincerely, Karine.